Eductor Unit Blending Wellbore Fluids
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional blending methods for wellbore operations are time-consuming and inefficient, especially in achieving hydration of additives, which can take several hours and require high pressures, leading to prolonged well completion times.
Innovation Solution
The use of an eductor unit with a jet nozzle and annular space to mix additives with wellbore treatment fluids, creating a low-pressure zone that draws additives into the fluid stream, allowing for real-time, high-pressure mixing and near-instantaneous hydration of polymers, reducing blending time and enhancing fluid properties.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of time
If conventional blending methods are used, then additives can be mixed with wellbore treatment fluids, but blending time is extended to several hours
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs hydraulic principles through the eductor device, where high-pressure fluid flow through a restricted orifice creates a low-pressure zone that automatically draws additive into the fluid stream. This hydraulic mixing mechanism eliminates the need for mechanical mixers and reduces blending time from hours to near-instantaneous, directly resolving the time loss contradiction.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention replaces conventional mechanical blending systems (atmospheric tanks, static mixers, internal stirring paddles) with a fluid-dynamics-based eductor system. By substituting mechanical mixing with hydraulic drawing and turbulent mixing, the system achieves rapid additive hydration and blending without the time-consuming mechanical processes, thereby improving well completion speed.
2Reliability
If conventional atmospheric blending is used, then additives can be hydrated, but hydration rate reaches only around 90% after two hours
Solution Approach 1:
The eductor device changes the pressure parameters of the fluid system, creating a low-pressure zone that draws additive into high-velocity flow. This parameter change enables near-instantaneous additive hydration with completeness exceeding 90%, achieving both high reliability and rapid processing without the two-hour wait required by atmospheric blending.
Solution Approach 2:
The high-velocity fluid flow through the eductor creates intense turbulent mixing action that continuously renews contact between additive and fluid. This periodic turbulent action accelerates hydration kinetics, achieving complete hydration in near-real-time compared to the static, slow diffusion process of atmospheric blending.
3Ease of manufacture
If conventional blenders are used, then chemicals can be mixed, but equipment complexity increases with atmospheric tanks and mechanical mixers
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts and eliminates the complex mechanical components (atmospheric tanks, stirring paddles, mechanical mixers) from the blending system. By using only a simple eductor device with a restricted orifice to create hydraulic drawing and turbulent mixing, the system achieves effective blending with minimal equipment, directly improving ease of manufacture and reducing device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The eductor device enables self-service blending where the high-pressure fluid flow automatically draws additive into the stream and mixes it through turbulent flow. No external mechanical power, motors, or complex control systems are required—the system uses its own fluid flow to perform the mixing function, simplifying the overall equipment structure.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach significantly reduces blending time to near instantaneous, achieving high hydration rates of up to 98% and eliminates the need for surface atmospheric mixing devices, thereby saving time and capital costs while maintaining consistent fluid quality.
Implementation Method 1
directing a flow of fluid into the inlet of the jet nozzle, so that the fluid flow exits the outlet of the jet nozzle and generate a low pressure zone in the annular space
Implementation Method 2
forming a mixture by providing communication between an additive and the port, so that the additive is drawn into the annular space and combines with the fluid
Implementation Method 3
a profile is on an inner surface of the housing adjacent the outlet of the jet nozzle and that defines a venturi
Data Source
AI summary
A system and method of wellbore operations that uses an eductor unit for introducing additives into a moving fluid stream to form a mixture. The mixture is used as a completion drilling fluid for drilling through plugs installed in a wellbore. Example additives include polymers, such as friction reducers, viscosifiers, potassium chloride, polysaccharide, polyacrylamide, biocides, lubricants, long chain polymer molecules, and the like. The fluid is primarily fresh water and/or brine water, and acts as a motive fluid in the eductor unit for drawing the additive into the eductor unit. Forming the mixture in the eductor unit which is injected into the wellbore.